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Before the
Federal Communications Commission
Washington, D.C. 20554
)
In the Matter of )
Meade County Communications, Inc. ) File No. EB-10-CG-0638
Licensee of Station WMMG ) NAL/Acct. No. 201232320001
Brandenburg, Kentucky ) FRN: 0003762333
Facility ID # 40927 )
)
NOTICE OF APPARENT LIABILITY FOR FORFEITURE AND ORDER
Adopted: October 12, 2011 Released: October 14, 2011
By the District Director, Chicago Office, Northeast Region, Enforcement
Bureau:
I. INTRODUCTION
1. In this Notice of Apparent Liability for Forfeiture and Order ("NAL"),
we find that Meade County Communications, Inc. ("Meade"), licensee of
AM Station WMMG, in Brandenburg, Kentucky, apparently willfully and
repeatedly violated section 73.3526(e)(12) of the Commission's Rules
("Rules") by failing to maintain and make available the issues/program
lists in the public inspection file. We conclude that Meade is
apparently liable for a forfeiture in the amount of ten thousand
dollars ($10,000). We further direct Meade to submit a written
statement signed under penalty of perjury stating that Station WMMG is
now in compliance with section 73.3526 of the Rules.
II. BACKGROUND
2. On August 18, 2010, an agent from the Enforcement Bureau's Chicago
Office conducted an inspection at Station WMMG's main studio, located
at 1715 Bypass Drive in Brandenburg, Kentucky. The agent reviewed the
materials in Station WMMG's public inspection file and found that the
file did not contain any quarterly issues/programs lists for the
current license term, i.e., it was missing 24 quarters of
issues/programs lists. Station staff was able to locate several
documents that they claimed reflected local issues that were addressed
in their programming, but those documents were not in the public
inspection file and were not in the format required by the
Commission's Rules.
III. DISCUSSION
3. Section 503(b) of the Communications Act of 1934, as amended ("Act"),
provides that any person who willfully or repeatedly fails to comply
substantially with the terms and conditions of any license, or
willfully or repeatedly fails to comply with any of the provisions of
the Act or of any rule, regulation or order issued by the Commission
thereunder, shall be liable for a forfeiture penalty. Section
312(f)(1) of the Act defines willful as the "conscious and deliberate
commission or omission of [any] act, irrespective of any intent to
violate" the law. The legislative history to section 312(f)(1) of the
Act clarifies that this definition of willful applies to both section
312 and 503(b) of the Act and the Commission has so interpreted the
term in the section 503(b) context. The Commission may also assess a
forfeiture for violations that are merely repeated, and not willful.
The term "repeated" means the commission or omission of such act more
than once or for more than one day.
4. Section 73.3526(a)(2) of the Rules requires broadcast stations to
maintain for public inspection a file containing materials listed in
that section. Section 73.3526(c)(1) of the Rules specifies that the
file shall be available for public inspection at any time during
regular business hours, and section 73.3526(e)(12) of the Rules
specifically requires licensees to place in their public inspection
file each calendar quarter a list of programs that have provided the
station's most significant treatment of community issues during the
preceding three month period (known as the issues/programs list). The
issues/programs lists must include "a brief narrative describing what
issues were given significant treatment and the programming that
provided this treatment," including, but not limited to, the time,
date, duration, and title of each program in which the issue was
treated. Copies of the issues/programs list must be retained in the
public inspection file until final action has been taken on the
station's next license renewal application.
5. On August 18, 2010, an agent reviewed Station WMMG's public inspection
file and found that it did not have any quarterly issues/programs
lists for the current license term. The documents provided to the
agent during the inspection did not constitute issues/programs lists
and, in any event, were not in the public file. Accordingly, based on
the evidence before us, we find that Meade apparently willfully and
repeatedly violated section 73.3526(e)(12) of the Rules by failing to
maintain the issues/programs lists and make them available in Station
WMMG's public inspection file.
6. Pursuant to the Commission's Forfeiture Policy Statement and section
1.80 of the Rules, the base forfeiture amount for violation of public
files rules is $10,000. In assessing the monetary forfeiture amount,
we must also take into account the statutory factors set forth in
section 503(b)(2)(E) of the Act, which include the nature,
circumstances, extent, and gravity of the violations, and with respect
to the violator, the degree of culpability, and history of prior
offenses, ability to pay, and other such matters as justice may
require. Applying the Forfeiture Policy Statement, section 1.80 of the
Rules, and the statutory factors to the instant case, we conclude that
Meade is apparently liable for a forfeiture of $10,000.
7. We direct Meade to submit a statement signed under penalty of perjury
by an officer or director of Meade stating: (1) the Radio
issues/program lists are being compiled, and (2) the Radio
issues/program lists are being placed in the public inspection file by
the tenth day of the succeeding calendar quarter. This statement must
be provided to the Chicago Office at the address listed in paragraph
12 within thirty days of the release date of this Notice of Apparent
Liability for Forfeiture and Order.
IV. ORDERING CLAUSES
8. Accordingly, IT IS ORDERED that, pursuant to section 503(b) of the
Communications Act of 1934, as amended, and sections 0.111, 0.204(b),
0.311, 0.314 and 1.80 of the Commission's Rules, Meade County
Communications, Inc., is hereby NOTIFIED of this APPARENT LIABILITY
FOR A FORFEITURE in the amount of ten thousand dollars ($10,000) for
violation of section 73.3526(e)(12) of the Rules.
9. IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that, pursuant to section 1.80 of the
Commission's Rules within thirty days of the release date of this
Notice of Apparent Liability for Forfeiture and Order, Meade County
Communications, Inc. SHALL PAY the full amount of the proposed
forfeiture or SHALL FILE a written statement seeking reduction or
cancellation of the proposed forfeiture.
10. IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that Meade County Communications, Inc. SHALL
SUBMIT a sworn statement as described in paragraph 7 to the
Enforcement Bureau Office listed in paragraph 12 within thirty (30)
days of the release date of this Notice of Apparent Liability for
Forfeiture and Order.
11. Payment of the forfeiture must be made by credit card, check or
similar instrument, payable to the order of the Federal Communications
Commission. The payment must include the Account Number and FRN Number
referenced above. Payment by check or money order may be mailed to
Federal Communications Commission, P.O. Box 979088, St. Louis, MO
63197-9000. Payment by overnight mail may be sent to U.S. Bank -
Government Lockbox #979088, SL-MO-C2-GL, 1005 Convention Plaza, St.
Louis, MO 63101. Payment by wire transfer may be made to ABA Number
021030004, receiving bank TREAS/NYC, and account number 27000001. For
payment by credit card, an FCC Form 159 (Remittance Advice) must be
submitted. When completing the FCC Form 159, enter the NAL/Account
number in block number 23A (call sign/other ID), and enter the letters
"FORF" in block number 24A (payment type code). Requests for full
payment under an installment plan should be sent to: Chief Financial
Officer -- Financial Operations, 445 12th Street, S.W., Room 1-A625,
Washington, D.C. 20554. If you have questions, please contact the
Financial Operations Group Help Desk at 1-877-480-3201 or Email:
ARINQUIRIES@fcc.gov. If payment is made, Meade County Communications,
Inc. will send electronic notification on the date said payment is
made to NER-Response@fcc.gov.
12. The written statement seeking reduction or cancellation of the
proposed forfeiture, if any, must include a detailed factual statement
supported by appropriate documentation and affidavits pursuant to
sections 1.80(f)(3) and 1.16 of the Rules. Mail the written statement
to Federal Communications Commission, Enforcement Bureau, Northeast
Region, Chicago Office, 1550 North Northwest Highway, Room 306, Park
Ridge, IL 60068 and include the NAL/Acct. No. referenced in the
caption. Meade County Communications, Inc. also shall email the
written response to NER-Response@fcc.gov.
13. The Commission will not consider reducing or canceling a forfeiture in
response to a claim of inability to pay unless the petitioner submits:
(1) federal tax returns for the most recent three-year period; (2)
financial statements prepared according to generally accepted
accounting practices ("GAAP"); or (3) some other reliable and
objective documentation that accurately reflects the petitioner's
current financial status. Any claim of inability to pay must
specifically identify the basis for the claim by reference to the
financial documentation submitted.
14. IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that a copy of this Notice of Apparent Liability
for Forfeiture and Order shall be sent by Certified Mail, Return
Receipt Requested, and regular mail, to Meade County Communications,
Inc., at P.O. Box 505, Brandenburg, KY 40108-0505.
FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION
James M. Roop
District Director
Chicago District Office
Northeast Region
Enforcement Bureau
47 C.F.R. S: 73.3626(e)(12).
The current license term began when the license renewal application was
granted on July 26, 2004. See BR-20040331ANF.
47 U.S.C. S: 503(b).
47 U.S.C. S: 312(f)(1).
H.R. Rep. No. 97-765, 97th Cong. 2d Sess. 51 (1982) ("This provision
[inserted in section 312] defines the terms `willful' and `repeated' for
purposes of section 312, and for any other relevant section of the act
(e.g., section 503).... As defined ... `willful' means that the licensee
knew that he was doing the act in question, regardless of whether there
was an intent to violate the law. `Repeated' means more than once, or
where the act is continuous, for more than one day. Whether an act is
considered to be `continuous' would depend upon the circumstances in each
case. The definitions are intended primarily to clarify the language in
sections 312 and 503, and are consistent with the Commission's application
of those terms ...").
See, e.g., Application for Review of Southern California Broadcasting Co.,
Memorandum Opinion and Order, 6 FCC Rcd 4387, 4388 (1991) ("Southern
California Broadcasting Co.").
See, e.g., Callais Cablevision, Inc., Notice of Apparent Liability for
Monetary Forfeiture, 16 FCC Rcd 1359, 1362 P: 10 (2001) ("Callais
Cablevision, Inc.") (proposing a forfeiture for, inter alia, a cable
television operator's repeated signal leakage).
Section 312(f)(2) of the Act, 47 U.S.C. S: 312(f)(2), which also applies
to violations for which forfeitures are assessed under section 503(b) of
the Act, provides that "[t]he term `repeated', when used with reference to
the commission or omission of any act, means the commission or omission of
such act more than once or, if such commission or omission is continuous,
for more than one day."
47 C.F.R. S: 73.3526(a)(2).
47 C.F.R. S: 73.3526(c)(1).
47 C.F.R. S: 73.3526(e)(12).
Id.
The Commission's Forfeiture Policy Statement and Amendment of Section 1.80
of the Rules to Incorporate the Forfeiture Guidelines, Report and Order,
12 FCC Rcd 17087 (1997) ("Forfeiture Policy Statement"), recon. denied, 15
FCC Rcd 303 (1999); 47 C.F.R. S: 1.80.
47 U.S.C. S: 503(b)(2)(E).
47 U.S.C. S: 503(b), 47 C.F.R. S:S: 0.111, 0.204(b), 0.311, 0.314, 1.80,
73.3516(e)(12).
See 47 C.F.R. S: 1.1914.
(...continued from previous page)
(continued....)
Federal Communications Commission DA 11-1704
4
Federal Communications Commission DA 11-1704